Kenya has intensified efforts to reduce preventable maternal and newborn deaths through strengthened surveillance systems, digital health transformation, and community-led interventions.
This was showcased during a high-level side event convened by the Council of Governors on the sidelines of the ongoing 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva.
The session, presided over by Cabinet Secretary for Health Aden Duale, highlighted the country’s renewed commitment to strengthening the Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response system, as part of broader reforms aimed at improving accountability and quality of maternal and newborn healthcare services.
Duale said Kenya has shifted from viewing maternal and perinatal deaths as statistics to treating every loss of life as a critical indicator of health system performance and accountability.
Duale noted that the country has adopted a “No Name, No Blame” approach, aimed at promoting learning, transparency, and system improvement rather than fault-finding during maternal and perinatal death reviews.
He explained that detailed case reviews are helping health authorities identify persistent gaps within the healthcare system, including delayed care-seeking, referral challenges, and weaknesses in the quality of treatment offered at health facilities.
The Cabinet Secretary further highlighted ongoing digital reforms within the health sector, noting that Kenya is transitioning from paper-based reporting systems to real-time electronic reporting across public health facilities.
Under the new system, clinical reviews are uploaded directly to national dashboards to enable faster analysis, real-time monitoring, and timely decision-making by health authorities.
At the community level, Community Health Promoters (CHPs) are using mobile technology to report deaths within 24 hours, ensuring that information from remote areas reaches county and National Review committees without delay.
The CHPs are also engaging families and communities to better understand the social and economic barriers affecting access to healthcare, with the information helping shape targeted interventions and responsive national policies.
To accelerate progress, Kenya has rolled out the Maternal and Newborn Health Rapid Results Initiative focused on improving emergency referral systems and ensuring the consistent availability of essential life-saving maternal and newborn health commodities across facilities.
The discussions positioned Kenya as an emerging leader in technology-driven and community-centred maternal and newborn healthcare reforms, aimed at reducing preventable deaths and improving health outcomes.
Hosted by Council of Governors CEO Ms. Mary Mwiti, the event was attended by Governors Muthomi Njuki of Tharaka Nithi county, his Nandi counterpart Stephen Sang, Medical Services Principal Secretary Dr. Ouma Oluga and the CEO SHA Dr. Mercy Mwangangi, alongside senior Ministry of Health officials
By Joseph Ng’ang’a
